How to create your own registration form or sign up sheet

What is a registration form?

It might be stating the obvious, but we think it's worth pausing on the question: what is a registration form? A registration form is a tool or web page that lets you, as an event organizer, give interested people the chance to sign up for your event. By entering details such as their name and email address, they register in one go. It's easily overlooked, but the registration process is one of the first moments potential visitors come into contact with your brand or organization. So it's incredibly important to set it up with care. Good thing you landed on this article, then. Because here we cover the ins and outs of a good registration form.

What do you use a registration or sign-up form for?

Before we really get started on the form, it's handy to know what you actually want to use it for. Well, a registration or sign-up form is there to collect information from people who are interested in what you have to offer. So whether it's your services, your products or an awesome event, that form brings in all the important details. "Plus, for events, it makes attendee lists much easier to manage.

You can keep track of exactly who has signed up and who to expect. Handy for you as an event manager, and certainly for other departments in your organization too. Take marketers, for example: they can use the information you've gathered to send your attendees more targeted messages.

A registration or sign-up form works like magic for keeping everything running smoothly and bringing in valuable info. 

Now that we know that, let's get started!

What details do you ask for?

A good tip for a registration or sign-up form: keep it simple and relevant. Only ask for details you genuinely need, so there's as little friction as possible for potential registrants. Think name, email address and maybe a phone number.

Asking too many questions can put people off filling in the form altogether. And of course we don't want that. So keep it nice and simple, and to the point. That way everyone is happy to fill in your registration or sign-up form and you still bring in valuable data.

Choosing between a physical and a digital form

These days, most event managers handle registrations with a digital form. But you can imagine cases where you'd rather go for a physical form than a digital form. Because of the location your attendees are in, for instance (you do need internet access, of course), or the preferences of your target audience. Older people, for example, might find a paper form a bit easier to fill in than a digital one.

On the other hand, a digital form usually means you're working more efficiently. The nice thing is that all the data is stored automatically. No more retyping details! On top of that, you can easily integrate digital forms with the other tools and systems you use. That makes the whole process much smoother and less prone to human error.

And let's not forget the environment! Digital forms are more sustainable, because you don't waste paper. That saves trees and eases the strain on the environment by cutting waste and the energy needed to produce and transport paper.

So it's up to you to decide which option suits your situation best. If you want everything to run smoothly and efficiently, digital is probably the way to go. But if you're dealing with a group of people who aren't very tech-savvy or don't have internet, a physical form can still come in handy.

What criteria should an online form meet?

Okay, so what does an effective online form actually need? A few essentials:

• User-friendliness: so people can navigate easily and enter their information without any hassle.

• Clarity: give clear instructions, so people know exactly what's expected of them. Nothing is more frustrating than vague directions.

• Design: an attractive design is incredibly important. Looks matter, right? A well-designed form with a clean layout and clear visual elements can hugely improve the user experience.

• Brevity: keep your form as short and relevant as possible. Is it unnecessarily long, with options that aren't relevant? In the online world those are all obstacles that reduce your chances of a conversion (a sign-up). So use conditional questions and only show the options that apply. Someone not joining for dinner? Then there's no need to ask about allergies.

• Responsive design: don’t forget that people use all kinds of devices these days, so your form has to adapt to different screen sizes. That’s what we call “responsive design”, and it makes sure the form looks and works just as well on a smartphone as on a desktop.

• Security and privacy: let's not lose sight of security either. An online form has to store data securely, so users' personal information is properly protected against unauthorised access. If you organize corporate events, meeting the relevant privacy rules can be an important consideration. Data protection is a serious matter these days, so your form should comply with the applicable laws and regulations to safeguard users' privacy.

In short: a good online form is user-friendly, comes with clear instructions, has an attractive design and works smoothly across devices. It stores data securely and sticks to the privacy rules. Get all that in order and you're well on your way to a successful online form.

Creating an online form yourself (free or paid): how do you do it?

There are several ways to create online forms for free. Below we run through a few options and explain how to get started with each.

Creating registration forms with AI

There are plenty of tools for building online registration forms, and we cover most of them below. But thanks to AI tools like Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT, you can also generate a form with an LLM. Just chat with them the way you normally would and you'll get to a decent form quickly.

There is one big drawback to this approach, though: the form eventually has to go on your website. Or at least somewhere other people can actually reach it, so not tucked away in your ChatGPT account. That means you do need some technical knowledge to get an AI-generated form onto your site.

Google Forms is a free and very simple tool for building your own custom forms and collecting responses. You can use all kinds of question types: multiple choice, text fields, dropdowns and much more. And you can adjust the design to your own taste and style.

The nice thing about Google Forms is that everything you collect is stored automatically in a Google Sheets spreadsheet. That makes it easy to view, analyse and share the answers with others. So whether you want to run a survey, need a sign-up form or just want to collect feedback, Google Forms does the job. It saves you a lot of time and hassle, and it's completely free too.

If you use Microsoft 365, Microsoft Forms is a handy choice for creating forms and viewing submissions. It's a user-friendly option built specifically for the job.

As an alternative, you can create a custom form in Microsoft Word, but Microsoft Forms is far more convenient when it comes to collecting data. Making a form in Word is perfectly possible, it just lacks the specific functionality Microsoft Forms offers.

In short: if you want a fast and efficient way to manage forms and submissions, Microsoft Forms is the one to go for. But if you're comfortable in Word and want a more hands-on approach, you can build a custom form there too. Just keep in mind that managing submissions may take some manual work.

Creating a form with Canva (for Physical Forms)

If you prefer to create a physical form, Canva is a fantastic option. While Canva is best known for designing images, it also offers templates for various types of forms, making it super convenient to customize the form to your liking.

With Canva, you can easily design and tailor the form to meet your specific needs. Once you've created the form, you can print it out and have participants fill it in. This allows you to create a professional-looking form that perfectly aligns with your goals.

However, one drawback of using Canva is that you may need to set up your own system for collecting and processing the filled-out physical forms. This can take extra time and effort, especially if you're expecting many submissions. Additionally, manually entering data from physical forms into a digital system can be time-consuming and increase the risk of errors.

Nevertheless, if you're looking for a creative and flexible way to make physical forms, Canva is still an excellent choice. It provides you with all the tools you need to create an attractive physical form that perfectly aligns with your goals. Enjoy the design process and let your creativity flow!

Advantages and disadvantages of using Canva

Creating a form with aanmelder.nl

aanmelder.nl is a fantastic choice for creating digital forms. Our user-friendly interface makes it easy to build registration forms, even if technology isn't your strong suit. With aanmelder.nl you can create beautiful registration forms effortlessly and benefit from advanced features you won't find in free alternatives. In this video we show you how easy it is to create a registration form in our tool:

Want to give attendees an extra nudge to sign up early? No problem. With aanmelder.nl you can set up promotions, discounts and conditional rules, such as early bird pricing and other exclusive offers that make your event extra attractive. That lets you make your registration process dynamic and appealing for different target audiences.

And why stop at the basic registration process? With our advanced options you can create attendee groups based on all kinds of criteria, such as workshop choices or dietary preferences. Then send (automated) personalised, segmented emails to specific groups, so the right information reaches the right people. Whether they're vegetarian or not, interested in specific workshops or have other preferences, aanmelder.nl lets you deliver tailor-made communication.

More features:

• Real-time insight: an up-to-date overview of everyone who has registered.
• Multilingual registration forms: show your form in Dutch, English and German.
• Target audiences: communicate with every audience according to their own preferences.
• Privacy: privacy is our top priority, of course.

Our platform offers handy features such as automatic confirmation emails, integrations with other tools and detailed statistics, so your event runs smoothly and your attendees have a great experience.

Curious about all the features? Take a look at everything our registration form can do.

Registration form examples

So far we've covered the purpose, creation and setup of a good registration form. Time for some inspiration: let's look at a few real forms. The video below shows an example of a simple registration form.

Sometimes you want a registration form with fields that are linked to each other. When an attendee indicates they're vegetarian, for instance, you only want to show them vegetarian dishes. Like in this video:

Advantages and disadvantages of using aanmelder.nl